Elyse Flannery putting the press on Pink Sheet sales

By Stan Hudy SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » When not driving the lane for the Shenendehowa girls junior varsity basketball team, Elyse Flannery is helping drive Pink Sheet sales for the third year in a row at Saratoga Race Course.

“My sister (Claire) was looking for a job and we were at a deli and she was talking to this kid, he was also 14, that’s when Pink Sheet starts to hire,” Elyse Flannery said. “My mom asked about getting her a job there and he said they are looking to hire people. So once my sister started doing it, I did it the year after.”

She is now a cagy veteran on and off the basketball court, able to break down the Pink Sheet’s content for any inquiring customer.

“I started to look at the odds and how well the handicappers did. I’m able to tell people if they ask me exactly what it is and how it can help them,” Elyse Flannery said. “I’ve learned a lot more about what I’m selling which is definitely an advantage over I think other kids who don’t really know.”

She also hopes to increase her role in the Shenendehowa girls basketball program this winter.

“I got moved up my freshman year to play JV and that was the best year, it was so much fun,” Flannery said. “Now I’m friends with all the older girls because my age group has all moved up.

“I played JV freshman year, then sophomore year, so this is the year I’ve got to make varsity.”

Just like reflecting on a big game, Flannery can recite her best day of the meet.

“Travers Day this year,” Flannery said. “There are just so many people and with me, I’m better with a larger group and once people start buying them, it just keeps coming.

“It was my top number ever was this year from the clubhouse spot.”

She is all too familiar with some of her slower days.

“When it’s a rainy day because no one wants to buy wet papers or if you’re not prepared and then you have to use your body as an umbrella to protect the Pink Sheet(s).”

The veteran Pink Sheet Kid has some useful advice for next year’s rookies.

“I learned that if you’re loud enough and you’re confident about what you’re selling and you know what you are doing, you’ll find success in it,” Flannery said.

She also used the old real estate mantra – location, location, location.

“Try your best to grab one of the better spots and if that means being louder or more confident, it’s important, that’s the best way to make money in this job,” she said. “If you want to make more money you have to be more committed to it.” Shenendehowa junior Elyse Flannery spent her third summer selling Pink Sheets in front of the Saratoga Race Course.